Zika Virus/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are hiking through a large, wooded area. A buzzing mosquito descends from high above the trees and lands on Tim's face, between his eyes. TIM: Ah. He smacks the mosquito with his hand, hitting himself hard. A handprint forms on his face. He flicks the now-dead mosquito from the bridge of his nose. TIM: Man, the mosquitos are out in droves today! MOBY: Beep. Moby points at a buzzing cloud of mosquitoes that is heading toward them. He holds his hand above his head, and a force field forms around him and Tim. As the mosquitoes hit the sphere they sizzle, die, and slide to the ground. TIM: That seems like overkill, but... thanks? Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, what is the Zika virus? I heard it is a very bad disease. From, Nathan. Hi, Nathan. The Zika virus has been making a lot of headlines lately, but it's actually not a new discovery. An animation shows a cross-section of a Zika virus. TIM: In fact, we've known about it for around 70 years. It was first identified in Uganda's Zika Forest. An image shows a map of Africa. A line connects the image of the Zika virus with the country of Uganda, landlocked in East Africa. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Up until recently, the virus was confined to Africa and Asia. An image shows a map of Africa and Asia. Various countries affected by the Zika virus are highlighted. TIM: But in 2015, Zika was first identified in the Americas. It started with an outbreak in Brazil. An image shows a map of North and South America. The country of Brazil is highlighted. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That's when a disease suddenly spreads across a population. Within a year, there were thousands of Zika cases across Latin America and the Caribbean. The map indicates Zika cases in parts of South America, all of Central America, and Mexico, in addition to Puerto Rico. TIM: Enough of a spread to call the outbreak an epidemic. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Fortunately, Zika's not a serious danger for most people. Four out of five people who get the virus don't become sick. An image shows five identical drawings of people. Only the one in the center is highlighted. TIM: For those who do, the symptoms are usually mild. The most common is an itchy, red rash. The four unaffected people disappear. The remaining person lies in bed, ill. An image shows a rash on a person's hand. TIM: Sometimes there's fever, joint pain, or stinging eyes. Additional images appear around the sick person, representing the symptoms Tim describes. TIM: Most people are back to normal in about a week. The sick person jumps to his feet and feels well again, smiling and flexing his muscles. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It's true, Zika has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome. The body's immune system goes haywire and attacks its own nerves. An animation shows antibodies munching on nerve cells. TIM: It can be serious, but it's also extremely rare. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The much bigger concern with Zika is in pregnant women. Infected mothers are more likely to have babies with brain defects like microcephaly. That's a condition where the brain doesn't fully develop. An animation shows silhouettes of two pregnant women. One has the Zika virus and one does not. Images from within the women's bellies compare the brains of their unborn children. The child of the Zika-infected mother has a smaller head and brain than the other child. TIM: It leads to issues with speech, coordination, and reasoning skills. Which makes it difficult to lead an independent life. The image of the Zika-affected child fills the screen. Additional images represent the problems Tim describes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Zika isn't usually passed from person to person. It spreads most often through mosquito bites. Only a few species are capable of carrying Zika. And they live mainly in tropical climates. An animation shows a mosquito closing in on a tourist who is taking pictures on a beach. The mosquito lands on the tourist's face, and he smacks it hard. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, Zika doesn't spread only from mosquitoes to humans. It can go from humans to mosquitoes, too. An animation shows a mosquito sucking Zika-infected blood from the tourist's face. TIM: An infected tourist might visit a place that has no history of the virus. If the right kind of mosquito bites him, it can get infected. And spread the virus to anyone else it bites. The tourist scratches his face where the mosquito has bitten him. The mosquito flies to a woman's face and bites her. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The mosquito species behind most transmissions can't live very far north. So while Zika cases have been reported throughout the United States, almost all of them were travelers who had been infected overseas. The map of the Americas reappears, with the United States now highlighted along with the countries indicated earlier. TIM: The exception is in southern Florida. The state of Florida expands to fill the screen. Its southern region glows yellow. TIM: Mosquitoes there have picked up the virus, and infected new hosts. An animation shows a buzzing mosquito biting a woman on the face. TIM: More homegrown infections are expected in other southern states. The mosquito infects the woman with the Zika virus. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The number of cases in America is still nowhere near what we'd call an epidemic. And like I said, most people don't even get sick. Though in some cases, that can help Zika's spread. An image shows five identical figures of infected people. The one in the center is highlighted, indicating he is actually ill. TIM: People who don't feel sick usually don't know they're infected. So they may not take precautions against spreading the virus. An animation shows the virus spreading as infected people mingle with others. TIM: Even though it's rare, they can pass Zika to another person through bodily fluids. An animation represents the spread of Zika from a man to a woman. TIM: If that person is pregnant, or gets pregnant soon after, the child is at serious risk. MOBY: Beep. TIM: The World Health Organization has declared Zika a public health emergency. Doctors around the world are keeping close tabs on its spread. An animation shows doctors at the World Health Organization doing research on their computers. TIM: Researchers are studying the virus in hopes of creating a vaccine. And developing novel ways to control mosquito populations. Animations show a cross-section of a Zika virus, along with a mosquito and a strand of DNA. MOBY: Beep. TIM: If you're traveling to a Zika hotspot, or if you live in one, you can do a lot to avoid mosquitoes. Use insect repellent on your skin and clothes. An animation shows a can of insect repellent being sprayed on a person's hand. TIM: And make sure those clothes cover as much of your body as possible. An image shows a teenage boy dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a cap, with only his hands and face exposed. TIM: But since we're not in a hotspot, and neither of us is planning on having a baby. Moby cuts Tim off. MOBY: Beep. Moby places a hand on Tim, signaling him not to move. Another huge, buzzing swarm of mosquitoes is heading toward them. Moby holds out his hand toward them, and a large, green glob shoots from it. The glob encloses the mosquitoes and drops to the ground. Tim and Moby walk to where it has landed. TIM: Is that Jello? He scoops up a bit of it with his finger. MOBY: Beep. Moby nods mischievously. TIM: Okay, that's just weird. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Health Transcripts